


A Lesson in Romantics

by CallMeHopeless



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cursing/Swearing, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Merlin is Morganas "ex-boyfriend", Weddings, and Arthur and Merlin "loathe" each other, basically loads of quotes-on-quotes all around, fair warning for passionate kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-16 20:45:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14818544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallMeHopeless/pseuds/CallMeHopeless
Summary: Morgana's wedding is around the corner and Arthur thinks it would be funny to ask Morgana's ex-boyfriend Merlin to be his pretend date for the occasion. Merlin, who happens to loathe him. What could go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [arthur_pendragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthur_pendragon/gifts).



> This is a prompt fill for [this](https://kinksofcamelot.livejournal.com/1806.html?thread=111118#t111118) lovely Kinks of Camelot prompt.

Arthur was definitely having one of _those_ mornings.

One of those mornings where the mere thought about getting up was a horrible chore, where when he needed matching socks he couldn't find some and the kind of morning where he just wanted to pour himself a cup of much needed coffee only to find that he'd run out of milk.

He cursed under his breath before making his way out of his flat with two differently coloured socks (one was black, one was a very dark blue – no one would notice, right? RIGHT?) and made his way to the coffee shop around the corner. No way he would be able to face his father's wrath at the firm without his daily dose of caffeine.

“Ahh, for f-” he bit his lip and struggled to get his phone out of his suit pocket as it had started ringing rather violently just as he wanted to cross the street.

“What is it Morgana?” he asked, eyes firmly on the passing cars, wishing they would slow down so he could make his way across.

“Good morning to you, too,” his sister said happily.

“I'm just calling to confirm your attendance on Saturday.”

Arthur groaned.

He hadn't forgotten. He wished he had though. His sister was getting married. To his best mate no less.

“No need to make distressed noises, Arthur. It means a lot to Leon that you come.”

“I know and I will, you know I will.”

“He still thinks you're angry with him.”

“I know, he keeps bringing it up at pub night. It's been four years, Morgana. I am absolutely 100% fine with you two canoodling. I should think you know that by now.”

“I know,” she said sounding bored.

“Tell that to your fiancé, then,” Arthur mumbled while seeing his opening and sprinting over the street in a hurry. The coffee shop was already in sight and his heart skipped a beat at the promise of a tall Cappuccino in his hand. A treat he didn't indulge in too often.

“Will do. And Arthur?”

“Mh?” he asked absent mindedly, while reaching for the coffee shop's door.

“Bring a plus one, will you? I'm worried about you.”

He rolled his eyes before hanging up. He didn't have time for this. She started to sound like a broken record. Just because he wasn't in many serious relationships. Okay, one. And okay, it had lasted three months. And alright, it had been three years ago, didn't mean she had to worry about him.

He joined the queue of people and waited his turn before ordering himself his coffee and a muffin – it was that kind of a day. He then proceeded to walk to the end of the long display of sweets to wait for his order, when he spotted _him_. All thoughts about his own failed relationships forgotten because for once, this one wasn't his fault, this one was Morgana's.

 

At one of the small tables sat Merlin, Morgana's ex-boyfriend. Arthur would deny it in a heartbeat but he felt a slight flutter when he looked at him. There had always been something about him even if he was loathe to admit it. The two of them had never gotten on very well and Arthur didn't think they had ever had a normal conversation that had not ended in a shouting match. Should he go over?

Merlin was sitting in one of the over large arm chairs, nursing a hot beverage wearing a jumper two sizes to big which looked absolutely ~~cute~~ dorky. He was wearing his thick-rimmed glasses he only wore when he was too tired or too comfortable to put his contacts in and Arthur did absolutely not find the sight ~~sweet.~~ Nor did he like the way Merlin yawned and mussed up his already very bad case of bed head he was sporting. It looked absolutely ~~adorable~~ ridiculous.

Arthur shook his head and took his order from the offering barista with a smile and a “thanks” before walking over to Merlin's table. He slowly edged closer from behind, careful not to make himself known until he was able to peek over Merlin's shoulder.

He was reading poetry. Arthur rolled his eyes. Figured. Nerd.

Slowly, he leaned down until his mouth was at a level with Merlin's ear and he then softly blew a breath of air against the other man's ear who immediately jumped in his seat.

Arthur roared loudly with laughter and Merlin turned around glaring at him.

“Oh, it's you,” he growled.

Arthur wasn't irritated by his tone however and sat down in the armchair across from Merlin.

“What do you want?” Merlin grit out between his teeth.

“That is not very nice Merlin, I just came over to say good morning.”

“By startling me half to death, you idiot.”

The grin on Arthur's face grew and threatened to take over his whole face. Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all. Merlin glared at him for another second, before getting back to his book. Arthur obviously couldn't have that.

“So, Merlin. What's new,” he asked with a mouthful of muffin, “I haven't seen you in a while.”

Merlin shook his head ever so slightly and marked his place in his book with his finger.

“I saw you just last week,” he paused and then added under his breath: "much to my dismay."

Arthur considered this. It was true, even after Merlin and Morgana broke up, Morgana tended to invite Merlin to pub nights, which Arthur did find kind of strange. Even Merlin and Leon seemed to get along pretty well. Shouldn't there be more animosity between the three? Seeing as Morgana and Merlin were ex's and all of that?

Arthur swallowed slowly and answered:

“True, but we didn't talk, did we?”

Merlin closed his eyes for a second as if he was dealing with an extremely complicated child.

“Well, just because _you_ didn't talk to _me_ doesn't mean I didn't have to hear your voice all night. You sure like to hear yourself talk, don't you?”

Arthur knew that he should be offended. He did. But instead, he just laughed again.

He took a sip of his coffee and found Merlin studying him.

“Are you coming to Morgana's wedding on Saturday?” he found himself asking.

Merlin snorted and fiddled with a loose thread on the armchair.

“No? Why would I go to my ex-girlfriend's wedding?”

Arthur shrugged and took another bite of his muffin.

“Well did she invite you?”

Merlin nodded, eyes still on the armchair, clearly uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Arthur was struck with an idea.

 

“Let's go together.”

He announced.

Merlin's eyes grew impossibly wide and his lips formed a perfect little o.

“Let's do what now?”

“Come on,” Arthur urged, weirdly excited.

“She keeps nagging me about bringing a date, yeah? Leon keeps being super uncomfortable because he's my mate and he started shagging my sister so let's turn the tables.”

Arthur felt as if he'd fallen into a bubble of complete silence. For a second, he couldn't hear the clatter of the cutlery against the plates around him, nor the chatter of the other people or the noises of the coffee machine because it was only then when his brain caught up with what he'd just said. What it had sounded like. What he'd propositioned.

Merlin was staring at him, seemingly not blinking as if in shock.

“You, what? Have you completely lost your mind?” he finally asked.

Arthur grinned sheepishly.

“I don't mean it for real, Merlin. I just want to give them a taste of their own medicine, yeah? Imagine us showing up together, dating. Well, fake-dating obviously. They stop pitying you, they stop pressuring me, we are going to have a laugh – bing bang boom evening over and we can go back to... this,” he gesticulated between the two of them.

“We hate each other,” Merlin clarified, watching Arthur intently.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Well, yeah and we can go back to that.”

Merlin kept watching him intently but Arthur could see his resolve crumble.

“Why?” Merlin finally asked.

Arthur shrugged.

“Call it boredom, call it irritation, call it temporary madness, I don't give a fuck.”

 

Merlin nodded slowly.

“So what, we'll be like... boyfriends for the wedding?”

“Yeah, like... boyfriends, fuck-buddies, whatever you choose I'll go with it.”

Merlin bit his lip for a second, seemingly contemplating the offer.

He finally held out his hand.

“Deal, Pendragon. But only because if I hear one more person ask if I'm okay, I swear, I'll go mad.”

Arthur grinned mischievously and shook Merlin's hand firmly.

“Deal.”

Maybe his sister's wedding wouldn't be as dull as he'd initially thought it would be. If he was completely honest with himself, this was the best idea he'd ever had. Morgana would have an absolute fit, Leon would hopefully come back to his senses and behave normally towards Arthur and the sweetest, most rewarding feeling of all: he would watch Merlin be uncomfortable all weekend. Not only because he would be forced to be by his side, pretending to stand him but it would be absolute torture to watch the woman he once loved – still loves? Get married to another man. Arthur almost couldn't contain his glee. And if there was an extra spring in his step on the way to the firm, well, then that was nobody else's business.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur's day had gotten considerably better since meeting Merlin at the coffee shop that morning. Not that he would tell anyone that. Or admit it to himself.

It was at lunch time, when he pulled out his phone, copied Merlin's number out of one of the various group chats Morgana insisted on including both of them in and sent him a quick text.

 

_Friday, 12:04 pm_

U want me 2 pick U up tmrw

 

It wasn't usually like him to use text lingo but Morgana sometimes shortened words in her messages and had complained about Merlin's irritation at her doing so more than once while the two of them had been together. A sense of child like glee overcame Arthur while he waited for a reply. He went to the canteen to quickly get himself a sandwich – not feeling any of the proper meals if you could even call them that – and went back to the sanctuary of his office.

 

He didn't have to wait too long for his phone to alert him to a received text message and he snorted with amusement when he read the answer he'd gotten.

 

_Friday, 12:16 pm_

Stop abbreviating the words, you dick. This is 2018. Whole sentences and proper punctuation or this will be the last message you will ever receive from me. Fucking savage. - M

 

His sandwich completely forgotten, Arthur immediately started typing a reply.

 

_Friday, 12:17 pm_

My dearest Merlin, it would be an absolute pleasure and a privilege if you would allow me to pick you up tomorrow morning in time for my sister's wedding. Would 7 o'clock suit you?

 

He'd just taken a large bite from his lunch when an affirmative message lit up his screen. Followed by more than one swear word.

 

Arthur didn't exactly know what he'd gotten himself into but he had a warm feeling in his stomach and the strangest hunch that he would be having an absolute blast after all.

 

_______________________

 

Arthur took special care with his appearance the next morning. Who knew, maybe Leon had invited some hot work colleagues Arthur could shamelessly flirt with?

At first, he had been slightly mad that his supposedly best mate had not asked him to be his best man. Leon had just stumbled his way through an incredibly uncomfortable conversation, declaring that he didn't want Arthur to feel awkward at being the best man to his sister's groom. Now, Arthur was kind of relieved that he didn't have any special duties because that meant that he would be done with everything after the day, no fuss.

It irritated him enough that the thing was supposed to last the entire day. Couldn't they just go to city hall and be done with it?

Arthur chuckled as he fixed his hair in the mirror. Artfully tousled, just as he liked it. It wasn't like his sister to do anything half-arsed. Of course she'd have the wedding at Penshurst place where she'd been once for a business trip and had fallen in love with the old castle like house and gardens.

 

It was just a little over an hour drive from London and Arthur thought it would give him and Merlin the perfect opportunity to come up with a cover story for the two of them showing up together. He reckoned that their friends would demand an explanation after all. It wasn't exactly a secret that the two of them didn't see eye to eye with each other.

He took a last look at himself in his dark grey tailored suit and fixed one last strand of hair before making his way to his car. He punched Merlin's address into his navigation system and was positively surprised that the man seemed to live only 10 minutes from him. Why hadn't he known that? He quickly made his way to Merlin's block but couldn't find his building straight away. He thought it would be best if he parked the car and picked up Merlin by foot as he cursed his way through the narrow streets. He did find a parking spot rather quickly and followed the navigation map on his phone. If he turned left here, he should be able to see...

 

Arthur gulped.

Merlin was standing in front of his building, looking completely relaxed in a fitting dark blue suit. Hair combed over his ears and out of his face for once. He had airbuds in his ears, head ever so slightly nodding to the beat. He was looking into the other direction, obviously expecting Arthur to come from the other side and therefore didn't see him.

Arthur couldn't help but stare for a moment, rooted to the spot.

Merlin looked... well, for lack of a better word, Merlin looked goddamn hot. Arthur decided that he was allowed to think that in the privacy of his own head. Years and seasons of watching Brooklyn 99 had taught him that it was perfectly acceptable to find someone irritating – hate them even – and if asked would still agree to have sex with them (thank god for Rosa's constant infatuations with anyone irritable).

Now, looking at Merlin in that dark blue suit that Arthur had no doubt would bring out his eyes perfectly? He would. Oh, he so would.

 

He quickly shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts because while he knew it was a perfectly normal reaction when being confronted with a perfect arse in perfectly tailored trousers, it wasn't what he was here for. He was here to support his sister. His best mate. And to see Merlin suffer.

 

He slid his hands in his trouser pockets, trying to look casual as he walked over to his waiting date and bumped his shoulder against Merlin's, startling him into pulling out his ear buds.

“Hey,” Arthur said, indicating the small cords Merlin was currently twisting nervously in his hands with a nod, “what are you listening to?”

Merlin also looked down at his fidgeting hand, stilled and looked back up.

“Er, 'It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning',” he replied seriously.

Arthur just looked at him, unsure if he was joking.

“Is that... like a song?” he finally asked.

That made Merlin laugh, free and unguarded and for a split second, the sound of it made Arthur want to laugh, too.

“A song, a mood, a way of life... take your pick, Arthur Pendragon.”

Arthur nodded and suddenly wondered if he was one of the people Merlin wanted hit by bolts of lightning. And then started to wonder why he even cared.

“You are so weird, Merlin,” he said, shaking his head softly while looking at the concrete floor so that Merlin wouldn't see the involuntary smile that had crept onto his face.

Merlin shrugged.

“Well yeah, but being weird is still better than being a dollophead.”

Arthur looked up, brow creased.

“And what, pray tell, is a dollophead?”

“In two words?” Merlin asked, slowly starting to walk into the direction Arthur had originally come from.

“Yeah,” Arthur said and followed suit.

Merlin shot Arthur a look over his shoulder, playful smirk firmly in place as he replied:

“Arthur Pendragon.”

 

____________________________  
  
“Arthur, you dolt. No one is going to believe that we met at a bloody book event.”

“Why not?” Arthur shot an affronted sideway glance at the boy in his passenger seat who huffed dramatically.

“What was the last book you've read?”

Arthur was quiet for a couple of seconds, thinking about it before Merlin broke the silence.

“Ex-fucking-actly. You're not exactly... a bookish type.”

“Well it's not like we can tell people you showed up at one of my footie games now can we?”

Merlin actually spluttered.

“What in heavens name would I be doing at a bloody _footie_ game?”

Arthur shot him a glare.

“Hey, you're in my car, Emrys, there shall be no footie hate tolerated in my car.”

Merlin snorted in amusement.

“Sorry, car.”

They both were quiet for a couple of seconds while Arthur made his way onto the motorway.

“I mean,” Arthur started, “we don't live very far from each other. We could tell people that we just... saw each other around? Like we actually did bump into each other at the coffee shop.”

Another snort.

“You want to make this a coffee shop romance?”

Arthur shrugged.

“Why not? Happens often enough?”

“This is horribly cliché of you. What, you saw me in one of those over large armchairs and finally realised how devastatingly cute I am?”

Arthur actually felt a warm shiver run down his neck. Merlin didn't need to know that the thought had crossed his mind. Briefly. Very, very briefly.

“No. More like we, two normal adults kept running into each other there and had normal adult conversations and started having our coffees together in the morning instead of apart and after a while we actually noticed that the other can be decent company.”

“Yeah? What do we talk about?”

“The weather?”

Arthur could feel Merlin's incredulous gaze on him.

“The fucking _weather_ , Arthur? Really?”

“I don't know, do you have a better idea?”

 

It took them the whole hour and 19 minutes until they had parked the car in front of the wedding venue to come up with this:

They had met at the coffee shop repeatedly. At first, both of them drank their respective coffees at their respective tables until it was pouring one morning and the coffee shop was packed with people looking for shelter from the rain, which meant that Arthur was unable to locate a free table. Merlin offered that they could sit together and they talked for two hours. It turned into a daily thing until Arthur asked Merlin to lunch. The week after, Merlin asked Arthur to dinner. Their relationship was still new to them which was why they hadn't told anyone about it yet (especially given their rather bumpy past).

 

They weren't completely happy with it but it was the best they could come up with in the short amount of time they had and it would simply have to do.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur was overcome with a strange prickling of nerves underneath his skin as the two of them walked up to the huge estate. He turned to Merlin.

“Should I hold your hand then, or something? For when we go in?”

Merlin just looked at him sideways with a stony expression. With a sigh, Arthur made to grab his hand but Merlin pulled back before he could properly grasp it.

“ _No,”_ he hissed pointedly, “you will certainly _not_ hold my bloody hand.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. This wasn't going to be easy for him, was it?

“Merlin,” he started exasperatedly, “how are they supposed to believe that we are a couple if you won't even let me hold your hand?”

Merlin made a distressed sound in his throat and looked pointedly ahead.

He gritted his teeth and bit out:

“Morgana _knows_ me, you clod. Knows that I'm not one for public displays of... affection. She'll know something is up if I show up holding hands with you of all people.”

“Fair point,” Arthur said, trying not to dwell on the fact that his sister knew Merlin better than he did. Of course she did. The two of them had been a real couple for a while. The real problem was, why did it suddenly bother Arthur so much? Nerves must be it, Arthur mused. He just needed the day to go according to plan so that he would finally be rid of his sister's nagging and his best mate's puppy dog eyes. And if the whole charade took irritating Merlin down a peg or two, Arthur was all for it.

 

When Arthur looked back up again, Merlin was already at the entrance, waiting for him. If Arthur didn't know better, he'd say Merlin looked a little unsure. Luckily he did know better.

“Merlin!”, he suddenly heard a loud and booming voice that could only belong to Gwaine, their mutual friend.

Gwaine was Leon's best man and had been to university with both Leon and Arthur. He beamed at Merlin before he embraced him tightly, burying his face in Merlin's neck.

Arthur didn't even know why the sight made him uncomfortable. Had the two of them always been this close?

“Hey man, that's enough,” he grinned, but felt like doing anything but inside.

Gwaine's eyes fell on him.

He released Merlin and turned to Arthur for one of their signature handshakes. Merlin rolled his eyes.

“If I have to watch one of those ridiculous jock handshakes one more time guys, I swear... ,” he walked off.

Gwaine watched him go and turned to Arthur grinning and shaking his head.

“So, tough luck you two arriving at the same time. I'm proud of you for not murdering each other in the parking lot.”

Arthur smiled and took a deep breath. Alright then, here goes. This was the moment where he found out if their cover story worked or not.

“Actually, we came up together.”

Gwaine blinked at him before he started to laugh. He clasped Arthur on the shoulder.

“Good one, A.”

“No, really. Picked him up this morning, came up together.”

Silence.

 

Something in Arthur screamed ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION but he tried to keep cool.

Gwaine studied his face, confusion visible in the cease of his brow.

“Why?”

It was Arthur's turn to chuckle.

“Well, you see, funny you should ask that. We might be, sort of, er,” he was looking for the right word that sounded casual but that was still getting the right idea across. Something that would make him seem cool but would also be fair to Merlin. Before he could come up with something however, Merlin appeared in the doorway again.

“He's looking for the word 'shagging', Gwaine,” he said before disappearing again in the other direction.

 

Arthur thought Gwaine might get whiplash from the way their friend kept looking between the now empty doorway and Arthur's face. He sighed. What had he gotten himself into?

 

____________________________________  
  
Arthur walked into Barons Hall, where the ceremony would be taking place and immediately stopped short. His breath hitched. Morgana had truly outdone herself. The hall definitely had a medieval feel to it with high Gothic windows and a towering beamed roof that let in beams of sunshine leaving the whole hall wonderfully lit by daylight. At the end of the room, they had built a makeshift altar out of different types of white flowers beautifully placed on the floor in a circle. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale.

“This is so Morgana, isn't it,” Merlin said next to him and there was an obvious fondness in his voice.

Arthur didn't trust himself to speak so he just nodded. Together, they sat down in one of the rows of chairs facing the altar. Arthur choosing the seat closest to the aisle, Merlin the one right next to him. Arthur didn't want to admit it but Morgana was very important to him and he knew how important this day was to her. Seeing her walk down the isle and getting married to his best friend did things to Arthur's emotions he was absolutely not ready to explore.

 

The two of them sat in companionable silence until the hall filled up with people. Most of them, Arthur didn't know. He suspected that a lot of them were either Morgana's or Leon's work colleagues. About a minute before the ceremony was supposed to start, Arthur saw his father slip into the door and only barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Typical. The man hovered near the door and then finally took a seat in the last row, looking distinctly uncomfortable and out of place. Arthur sighed. He would have to make up for Uther's obvious lack of support then, he mused.

 

He hadn't even noticed that he'd started fidgeting with his hands until Merlin elbowed him and hissed “stop that,” just before the music started playing.

 

Leon was standing at the altar, looking nervous and excited and – quite frankly – like he was about to faint. Arthur liked that look. Gwaine, who was standing next to him, was beaming and only raised an eyebrow in Merlin's direction when he caught Arthur's eye. Arthur shrugged in reply.

Suddenly, every single head in the hall started to turn when the back doors opened.

 

Morgana strode in, a look of pure bliss on her face, in a long white dress decorated with lace. The contrast between the dress and her black hair made _her_ look like something out of a fairy tale as well and Arthur's mouth dropped open. He wasn't an emotional sod by a long shot but seeing his sister like this? Somehow did it for him. His eyes filled with tears, until...

“Ow,” he cursed and glared at his hand where something had just pinched him. He saw Merlin's fingers hover just over his and could then make out the other's breath against his ear:

“Don't you dare cry, Pendragon. If you cry, she cries. And I will not have her cry today, you hear me?”

Arthur turned to look at Merlin but the younger man's eyes were fixed on the bride. Acting on impulse, he grabbed Merlin's hand and linked their fingers together.

“Fine,” he hissed back at the surprised squeak Merlin let out at the contact, “but then you'll have to suck it up and be my stress-ball until this is over.”

Since Merlin didn't object, he just started to squeeze tighter and found that it actually did help him keep his emotions at bay.

 

__________________________________  
  
The actual reception was held in the gardens behind the estate. After the traditional cake cutting, the couple was accepting their congratulations and while Arthur thought it was absolutely ridiculous that he would have to queue up to congratulate his sister on getting married, here he was.

 

He pulled Leon into a tight hug and clasped him on the back a couple of times.

“Congratulations, mate,” he mumbled into the other man's shoulder.

“I could not be happier.”

“Do you really mean that, Arthur?” Leon asked nervously, eyes cast downward.

“Oh for fucks sake, Leon,” Merlin chimed in, rolling his eyes.

“He was crying like a big baby the whole time. He thinks you two are absolutely perfect together and he wants to babysit all of your brats on the weekends,” he turned to Morgana, who could barely stifle a giggle, “hello beautiful,” he directed at her and kissed her on the cheek.

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” then he turned to both of them and beamed.

“This was the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen, promise.”

Leon grinned.

“How many have you seen then, Merlin?”

Merlin stuck his tongue out.

“At least two, if you count the Red Wedding.”

Leon pretended to wipe sweat off his brow in relief and turned to Morgana.

“Thank god we trumped that one, eh?”

Arthur grinned and shook his head.

He'd always known at the back of his head that there was this understanding between the three of them. This connection, this closeness. He had no idea what to make of it. Was it always like this? How had he never noticed before?

 

“Huh?” he asked eloquently, when his sister waved her hand in front of his face. Obviously having been asked a question.

“I asked where your plus one was, Arthur,” she said smiling and rolling her eyes at Merlin, whose turn it was to look slightly uncomfortable.

Arthur grinned. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. As casually as he could, he pointed at Merlin.

“You're looking at him.”

Morgana stopped smiling. Leon gaped and looked between the two, then at his wife.

Arthur could hear the birds above him chirp and could feel Merlin next to him fidget.

“You're here together?” she asked, looking at Merlin.

“Yeah,” Arthur said but she paid him no mind, gaze still firmly fixed on the man next to him.

Merlin nodded.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“As in...”

Merlin rolled his eyes.

“As in fucking boyfriends, Morgana, get over it.”

She still regarded him curiously as if she didn't believe him. And maybe she didn't, but even if she had her doubts, she kept silent.

 

Instead, she pointed them in the direction of their table where they would be serving lunch shortly.

“Well, that was intense,” Arthur snickered as they walked over to where they were supposed to sit. He thought it had gone down well considering everything but Merlin apparently didn't share his opinion. He kept quiet and angrily stabbed his fork into his napkin while mumbling nonsense under his breath which only stopped when Arthur put his hand on top of Merlin's to keep him still.

“What's gotten into you?” he asked.

Merlin just shook his head, not looking up.

“This just was a really fucking stupid idea.”

Arthur nodded.

“Yeah, probably. But it will be over tonight, yeah?”

Merlin huffed.

“Yeah.”

“And then you don't have to see my ugly mug for a long time.”

A snort.

“Well until pub night next week,” Arthur amended.

“Let's just get this over with,” Merlin sighed and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

Arthur looked at him. Looked at how those impossibly long lashes seemed to be caressing Merlin's cheeks. Took in how Merlin seemed to fit in perfectly with their surroundings like he too, was something out of a fairy tale...

“I swear to fucking god Pendragon, if you don't quit staring at me right now, I will bash your fucking head in.”

Arthur nodded, grinned and directed his gaze to his sister and her groom, grinning from ear to ear about his previous thought of Merlin in a fairy tale.

“God, I fucking hate you,” was the next thing he heard.

He chuckled.

Best fairy tale ever.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this next one is going to be an interactive chapter (yay?). I'd already written it one way without thinking too much about it, when I went over the prompt again and realised that it wasn't really what the wonderful OP had asked for. Since I like to give OP's what they would like to see, I decided to - well - write an alternative scene, seeing as it's literally the last paragraph and then you guys can choose for yourselves which one to read :) these are the rules:  
> \- if you don't care, read on!  
> \- if you want Merlin and Morgana to have been in a "Relationship" with each other, read on!  
> \- if you want Merlin and Morgana to have been in a serious 1 year relationship, stop at her entrance at "HERE YOU TWO ARE" and continue in the END NOTES 
> 
> Thank you :)  
> Let me know which version you read/if you read both, which one you liked better, I'm really interested :)

If asked, Arthur would absolutely deny that he had fun with Merlin.

He'd deny that he had completely forgotten about making Merlin miserable as he chased after him with one of the wedding Polaroid cameras, stuffing his suit pockets with as many snapshots as he possibly could.

 

He did not at all feel lighter every time Merlin smiled at him and he did definitely not frown and feel a pang of jealousy every time he caught Merlin watching his sister. No sir, absolutely fucking not.

 

It was inevitable however, that he sooner or later ran into his father. It finally happened, when he and Merlin were standing at the bar giggling like school boys while waiting for their drinks. Merlin insisted on taking the camera from Arthur with a huff and a slurred:

“Jesus, Pendragon, work on that ugly mug of yours, would ya?”, before taking a picture of Arthur's widest (drunkest) grin, when Uther stepped up to them.

He nodded at his son.

“Arthur,” he said formally. The grin slid right off Arthur's face as he nodded back.

“Father,” he indicated Merlin with his hand, “you remember Merlin.”

Uther's gaze flicked over Merlin briefly.

“Of course,” he replied, tightening his hold around the champagne glass he was clutching.

“Merlin, Morgana's former... consort,” he paused.

“Hasn't worked out with her, so you thought you'd take another shot at the Pendragon fortune, eh?” he snarled and took a sip from his glass.

Without a beat, Arthur started laughing.

 

He had no idea where the courage came from. He usually wasn't the sibling to stand up to his father but he couldn't help himself.

“What fortune, father? The horrible art you insist on collecting? The flat I keep ridding of mold?” he leaned forward, looking at his father conspiratorially and said in a stage whisper: “to be honest, I do believe Merlin here does have a higher salary than I do. He does work with Morgana in advertisement, does he not?” he glanced at Merlin for confirmation, who just nodded, obviously confused by the scene playing out in front of him, “see father, so if anything, that makes me the gold digger, wouldn't you agree?”

 

He stared his father in the eyes for a second longer before he pushed himself off the bar and steered a perplexed Merlin away from Uther and in the direction of the dance floor.

“Dance?” he asked, indicating the dozens of couples already clinging to each other, slowly swaying to the beat.

 

Merlin's eyes grew impossibly wide.

“Are you insane?” he almost shrieked, “I'm not dancing with you!”

Arthur grinned, watching the other people gliding over the space in front of them in perfect unison before grabbing hold of Merlin's hand and dragging him in the middle of the swaying masses.

“Hell yeah you are.”

With a yelp, Merlin stopped and looked around him, seemingly slightly panicked. He tried to collect himself, tried to look authoritative before demanding:

“Alright, but I am _not_ the girl. You're the girl”

Arthur looked at him in amusement.

“Have you ever led a dance before?”

 

Merlin's resolve crumbled visibly in his face.

“Er, no?”

Instantly, Arthur's hands wandered around Merlin's waist and he urged Merlin to place his around Arthur's neck before saying:

“In that case, I think snob boy privileges with years of dance classes do apply here.”

And then he started to sway.

Merlin didn't need to know that no dance classes whatsoever were necessary for swaying. Arthur would just enjoy the moment.

 

They kept silent for a little while, keeping as much distance between their bodies as they could but as the number of people on the dance floor grew, the distance between them shrunk and soon they were pretty much pressed together.

Merlin cleared his throat as he rested his chin on Arthur's shoulder, thankful for the excuse not to look at him.

“So, interesting talk with your father then.”

Arthur closed his eyes, enjoying the weight of Merlin's body against his.

“Mhh,” he answered.

“Today is not the time or the place to start harassing people. He should learn to behave.”

Merlin snorted.

“Like you have any idea how to behave?”

Arthur grinned.

He found himself doing that a lot in Merlin's company. He hadn't noticed that before.

“Well I like to think so.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” Merlin said before he trailed off.

He was about to say something else but then the music stopped and the guests were asked to find their tables for dinner.

 

 _About time_ , Arthur thought because he was starting to feel the alcohol. Which wasn't good for his behaviour at all.

 

When they arrived at their table, they were joined by Gwaine and their friend Percival who were both on Arthur's football team.

“Does that mean you'll come to our games more often?” Percy asked between two mouthfuls in Merlin's direction.

“Why would I?” Merlin shot back, which seemed to unsettle Percy a bit and his gaze flickered from Merlin to Arthur and back.

Arthur placed his flat hand mockingly over his heart, threw his head back and sighed.

“Oh, if my boyfriend only was of the supporting sort. Often I lie awake in bed at night and hark for the nightingale to sing me a song of loss and love and support. But it just - like Merlin – never comes.”

Percy tried not to grin and failed miserably while Gwaine full on roared. Merlin flicked Arthur's ear with his forefinger and thumb.

“Idiot,” he mumbled before asking:

“Are you coming to the discussion of Lord Alfred Tennyson's 'In Memoriam A.H.H' next week?”

He looked at Arthur with such an open face and such bright eyes that he couldn't find it in himself to say no. He really wanted to. His whole body screamed no. Even his hair screamed no. His face said:

“Sure, sounds like a hoot.”

Merlin nodded while starting to push his food around on his plate.

“Cool, in that case, I'll come to your game,” he said a little bit impassibly, eyes firmly on his plate.

And that was that.

Gwaine and Percy carried most of the conversation from then on, talking about the new sports gear they had gotten in their store and making plans for their next pub night.

 

The two of them seemed to get drunker by the second until they started singing 'God Save the Queen' from the bottom of their lungs, at which point Merlin excused himself for the loo and Arthur couldn't stop laughing and started recording his friends on his phone. Soon, they stumbled upwards and tried finding people to join their little choir but to no avail.

 

Arthur waited another 15 minutes for Merlin's return before he started looking for him. He'd noticed the other man going quiet a while ago and had missed the usual jibes but he'd attributed that to the long day they'd had. Merlin probably just wanted to go home. Arthur was getting more and more tired as well. He'd just find him and tell Morgana that they would leave. She would be fine with it, he was sure.

 

He finally spotted Merlin leaning against the wall of the estate, almost completely in the dark. Arthur could only barely make him out in the soft light of the lanterns that were lit all around the festive area. He walked towards him.

“Hey,” he announced himself and plopped himself against the wall in imitation of his companion.

Merlin groaned.

“There is no getting rid of you, is there?”

Arthur smiled lopsidedly, “well no, you came here with me. There is no getting home without me.”

“Sod off, Pendragon, I want to be alone.”

Arthur looked at him. Really looked. His face was illuminated only by the faint orange of the lanterns. He looked tired, drained.

“Why?”

Merlin shrugged.

“Just, please, fuck o-”

 

“Here you two are,” a third voice interrupted them.

They turned and saw Morgana gracefully gliding towards them, blissful smile firm in place. She came to a stop in front of them and took one of their hands each in one of their own.

“I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk to you more,” she said, smiling.

“I'm also sorry for how I reacted, earlier. Leon said it wasn't the most elegant of reactions,” she grimaced.

“I'm happy it worked out. I truly am. Especially after everything you had to go through, Merlin,” she smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

Arthur was puzzled. What did she mean by that?

“Sometimes things are so unfair for good people and you truly are one of the best people I know and you certainly didn't deserve that. Or to be stuck with me,” she laughed and if anything, Arthur was more and more confused by the second.

“I don't follow,” he finally said, which earned him a confused look from Morgana while Merlin decided to direct his to the floor.

“You haven't told him?”

“Er...No?”

“Are you going to?”

Merlin looked at her then, rolling his eyes. Arthur was glad at the sight because it meant that the Merlin he knew was still in there somewhere. A Merlin who didn't roll his eyes and stammered was a very strange sight indeed and Arthur had begun to worry.

“You are obviously going to.”

Morgana flicked her hair out of her face with an elegant shoulder flip and nodded.

“Damn straight I will,” she turned to Arthur.

“Well obviously, Merlin isn't interested in any of the bits I have to offer,” she said which startled Arthur. He looked at Merlin, jaw slack. Where exactly was this going?

"He had just started at our marketing firm, bright, young, I desperately needed him for my team. I still do by the way, and we happened to have a terribly homophobic boss who fired anyone who couldn't at one point present a... well, heterosexual significant other,” she finished, finally releasing their hands and pointing between her and Merlin.

Arthur's mouth was wide open at this point. He gaped. Pointed between the two of them.

“But you two...”

She shook her head.

“You were together for _a year_!”

She shrugged.

“For appearances.”

“In front of me!”

She laughed, loudly.

“Well, _that_ had other reasons. I'm glad you finally told him about _that_ at least,” she winked.

Arthur immediately looked in Merlin's direction and expected a reaction but the other man looked like he'd frozen in place.

“Well, what's that then?” Arthur asked, directing his eyes back at his sister.

He could hear her name being shouted in the background and she turned to leave but before she did, she squeezed both of their shoulders, smirked and said:

“How much he's been in love with you for the past five years of course! Basically fell in love with you on first sight!”

 

And with that she was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Here you two are,” a third voice interrupted them.  
> They turned and saw Morgana gracefully gliding towards them, blissful smile firm in place. She came to a stop in front of them and took one of their hands each in one of their own.  
> “I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk to you more,” she said, smiling.  
> “I'm also sorry for how I reacted, earlier. Leon said it wasn't the most elegant of reactions,” she grimaced.  
> “I am happy for you guys, I truly am,” she looked directly at Merlin while saying that.  
> “After all this time, eh?”  
> Arthur was puzzled. What did she mean by that?  
> He felt like he was witnessing an inside joke he definitely was not a part of.   
> Merlin smiled back at her. Sadly, almost ruefully, and nodded.  
> “Yeah,” he croaked.  
> “I'm so happy you finally told him,” her smile got softer, until it was only barely there and she squeezed both of their hands before letting go.  
> Somewhere in the distance, someone shouted her name and she turned to leave.   
> “Told me what?” Arthur asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. The atmosphere between the three of them seemed thick, almost electric and for some reason he found it hard to breathe.  
> Morgana clasped him on the shoulder.  
> “That you'd stolen my boyfriend long before now, brother dearest,” she turned to Merlin.  
> “Merlin is the best, Arthur. Never mind how much he's been in love with you for the past five years, if you hurt him in any way, I will hunt you, family or no.”
> 
> And with that, she was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

For a second, all Arthur could hear was his own blood pumping in his ears and the far off laughter of the other guests. He pushed himself off the wall and turned around to face Merlin.

“You were in love with me the whole time?” he asked calmly.

Merlin looked at him then. He stuck his chin out, defiantly.

“So what?”

“So what?” Arthur's voice grew louder, incredulous, not able to fully contemplate what he was hearing.

“You were an absolute arse to me for the past five years,” he accused loudly.

Merlin spluttered.

“What was I supposed to be, you fucking infuriate me!” Merlin shouted.

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on breathing through his nose. He balled his hand at his side to a fist to keep himself from making any rash decisions.

“You absolute wanker,” he bit out in a low growl, grabbed Merlin by the collar of his dress shirt and pushed him back up against the wall.

“Un-fucking-believable,” he murmured to no one in particular while his gaze was firmly fixed on the other man's mouth just before he pulled Merlin into a hard and bruising kiss.

 

They clung to each other urgently and desperately. Arthur pressing his whole body onto Merlin's as if he couldn't bear for his left knee to be apart from Merlin's right knee any longer. His arm held on to Merlin's waist as if it was a life line and he kissed Merlin as if he was the only oxygen tank left on the whole planet. Merlin's whole body shook as he clung to Arthur. He had his hands buried in Arthur's dress shirt collar, holding on so tight that it looked like he might rip the delicate fabric any minute from the sheer pressure of his fingers.

The kissing only started to quiet down when both of them got light headed from the lack of air and what started out as desperate, ended in lazy, soft pecks with their eyes closed.

Neither of them dared to speak but Arthur couldn't get enough from kissing Merlin either, so he simply didn't stop.

“Arthur,” Merlin finally interjected.

Arthur kissed him.

“Arthur,” Merlin tried again, not sounding quite so hoarse this time.

Arthur made a noise at the back of his throat in reply but kissed Merlin again, not opening his eyes.

He only opened them when Merlin loosened the hold on Arthur's collar and placed his hands on Arthur's chest instead, half-heartedly shoving him off.

Merlin had a determined expression on his face when he looked Arthur straight in the eye and said:

“This doesn't change anything.”

Arthur returned the glance with a bewildered look.

“What do you mean this doesn't change anything, this changes _everything_.”

Merlin shook his head, laughing and mussing up his hair with his hand, sounding slightly manic.

“No, Arthur. Just because I have feelings for you does not mean that I will let you _get some_ whenever you feel like it. Or _cater to your every need_ or _swoon at your feet_ or whatever.”

 

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle. He abruptly stopped however, when he saw the flash of hurt on Merlin's face. He tightened his arm around Merlin's waist and said:

“If that was what I wanted, Merlin, it would be so, so much easier to get it elsewhere. I don't think you even know what the word swooning means.”

“Clotpole.”

Arthur grinned.

“Exactly.”

He sighed and leaned forward, suddenly unable to look at Merlin while simultaneously feeling the unbearable need to be as close to him as possible. He kissed him again before leaning his forehead against his.

“Merlin, I don't know what this is. I don't know what I feel. I am not good at... this. The only thing I do know is that nothing – literally, nothing – has ever felt so perfect in my entire life. Holding you like this. Spending the day with you. Talking to you. It's fucking perfect,” Merlin was about to say something to that but just as he was about to speak, Arthur kissed him again.

“Just, god, shut the fuck up for once and let me say this okay?”

Arthur shifted from his one foot to the other, feeling nervous. Leaning their foreheads back together, feeling Merlin everywhere like this.

“When Morgana just said that you love me, it was like something just king of, I don't know, like something just clicked and suddenly the whole fucking universe just aligned or some crazy shit and this,” he kissed Merlin again, “seemed the most natural – the _most right_ thing to do in the world.”

 

When Merlin didn't say anything after Arthur had finished his little speech, he drew back a bit, just enough so he could make out the blush and the soft smile on Merlin's face. Merlin studied him for a moment before saying:

“God, Pendragon, you are so fucking weird, you know that?”

 

_____________________________________________________

  
Six Weeks later:

 

Arthur and the guys had already been at the pub for about an hour after their footie game at the park had finished, when Merlin rushed in.

“Sorry I'm late,” he mumbled and came to a stop behind Arthur at the back of the booth. He started to softly run his fingers through Arthur's hair while saying hello to everyone else. Arthur leaned back on the bench and rested his head on the edge, looking up at Merlin.

“Don't I get a kiss?” he pouted.

Merlin grinned.

“Let me get a pint first and drop my stuff off,” he patted the messenger bag by his side for emphasis.

Arthur was having none of it though and without further ado grabbed Merlin's tie to drag his boyfriend down so that their lips could meet.

The angle was weird. Their mouths didn't fit – which wasn't surprising, seeing as it was upside down - but to Arthur, everytime he got to kiss Merlin, it was special.

Merlin righted himself and slid the bag back over his shoulder, from where it had slipped off.

“Impatient idiot,” he chided, but the insult sounded weak. Arthur grinned.

“Spiderman kiss, yeah?”

Merlin smiled as if he tried not to but simply couldn't help it.

“I thought you'd fallen asleep while watching that.”

Arthur shrugged.

“Can't very well be asleep while you swoon over other men, can I?”

“Clotpole.”

“Turnip head.”

“Hey, that's my insult.”

Arthur shrugged casually and Merlin laughed.

“So, you want another Lager?”

“Yes please,” Arthur looked at Merlin with his best puppy dog eyes.

“Chips?”

“Yes!”

“Ketchup and vinegar on the side?”

He gave an enthusiastic nod.

“Thank you, Merlin.”

Merlin sighed.

“It's what I'm here for,” he said and turned to go.

“It's why I love you,” Arthur retorted and turned back to the conversation at the table until he noticed that Merlin had frozen to the spot.

He turned back.

“Merlin?”

Merlin stared at him, eyes wide open and the conversation at their table had gone completely quiet.

“Mate, I think you broke him,” Gwaine said, leaning in Merlin's direction and waving his hand in front of his face but Merlin didn't even blink.

It took another second until Merlin even seemed to start breathing again. He blushed.

“I, er, you. You haven't said that before.”

Arthur thought about what he'd said.

A slow grin spread over his face as he considered Merlin's reaction. He'd had no idea that saying the actual words would make such an impact seeing as the two of them usually understood each other so well without words most of the time.

“Really, Merlin?” Arthur started, obviously amused.

“I tell you _the whole fucking universe aligns when I'm with you_ and you don't get I love you from that? How fucking thick are you?”

 

Merlin seemed to consider this for a second. He also seemed to consider that they weren't alone but that about ten of Arthur's football mates were currently listening in so he just settled on rolling his eyes and making a rude gesture in Arthur's direction, before stomping off to the bar.

 

Conversation slowly started back up again but Arthur's eyes were still on Merlin. He'd quickly attuned to his boyfriend's personality in the six weeks that they had been officially dating and was able to pick up on rare displays of insecurities by now. Which was why he immediately jumped up from his seat without any hesitation, when he saw Merlin's gaze flicker back towards them after speaking to the bar tender. It was just for a brief second but Arthur saw the uncertainty there. Merlin then proceeded to nervously scratch his neck as Arthur approached.

Merlin was just handing over his credit card, when Arthur slid his arms around Merlin's middle and rested his head on Merlin's shoulder.

 

“Hey,” Merlin grinned half at Arthur, half at the bartender who handed Merlin his card back and proceeded making their drinks.

“I really do love you, you know.”

“Ugh, Arthur, stop saying that, it sounds unnatural.”

“Well excuse me for thinking you liked it just then.”

Arthur meant it to sound teasing but Merlin went very quiet just then.

“Yeah well, hard to tell sometimes, isn't it? We don't behave much differently than we have before.”

Arthur's brow ceased.

“Well we haven't had sex before.”

Merlin laughed.

“I didn't kiss you before or hug you before,” he continued and kissed Merlin just behind his ear for emphasis.

“Didn't tell you I loved you before,” he continued and started to feel faint by the sheer number of times he threw the L-word around. But he had the strange feeling that Merlin needed it.

Merlin giggled.

“True. But other than that, though,” he said, tapping his fingers on the bar nervously.

“We still insult each other. We still shout at each other. I still tell you to fuck off... sometimes I'm scared that one day you will.”

Arthur grinned and tightened his hold.

“Well, do I still infuriate you?”

Merlin groaned and tensed.

“All the bloody time! How can one single person be such a stupid idiot!”

Arthur laughed and stood up straight only to cup Merlin's cheek and kiss him soundly. Partly because he wanted to and partly because he wanted Merlin to stop talking. They had a nice thing going right now, why ruin it with a shouting match. They could do that later that evening when it would lead to... well other things.

They only parted when two pints were placed in front of them with a clink and Arthur said:

“We're good, Merlin. We're perfect. I love you.”

Merlin smiled.

“The universe is aligned for me, too”

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard not to react. Merlin looked at him with a shit-eating grin before making his way over to their friends.

Shaking his head, Arthur followed, eyes firmly on Merlin as he watched him hug the rest of the group in proper greeting.

Arthur had never met someone so irritating in his life. Merlin challenged him and balanced him out like nothing and nobody ever had. 

It was completely and utterly perfect and the only regret that he had was that it had taken him five years to realise it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last one, guys :)   
> I think this is the most fun I have ever had writing and I just wanted to say thank you so so so much for reading. Your support for this story has completely overwhelmed me and I truly don't know what to say. The comments on this were absolutely wonderful and I would like to thank each and every one of you who has taken time out of their day to read/leave kudos and comments on this story! Thank you so much :) I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Especially you AP. I hope this is what you had in mind when you wrote the prompt :)


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